Literature Review

Bridging faith and palliative care: Catholic clergy and community engagement in the United States American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care; by Clotilde Dudley-Smith and Brian Stiltner; 5/27/26 ... Spiritual care delivered by community clergy when disconnected from contemporary palliative care principles may, in some cases, unintentionally contribute to delayed hospice referral and increased use of aggressive, nonbeneficial treatments near the end of life. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature in palliative care, chaplaincy, and sociology of religion, this paper examines structural, educational, and cultural barriers that limit collaboration between palliative care teams and Catholic clergy in the United States.

From loss to calling: Nursing students’ experiences of family terminal illness and death in the formation of professional identity and humanistic care Death Studies; by Laurie Glick and Adi Finkelstein; 5/10/26 ... This qualitative study examined nursing graduates who experienced the terminal illness and death of a close family member, providing them with early exposure to clinical settings and shaping their emotional insight and sensitivity to the psychosocial dimensions of end-of-life care. Their experiences often deepened their desire to enter the nursing profession and deliver compassionate, humanistic, family-centered care as clinical practitioners. 

States with the most, fewest licensed nurses per capita Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Mariah Taylor; 5/21/26 The National Council of State Boards of Nursing found the District of Columbia has the most licensed nurses per capita, while Utah is the state with the fewest for the second year in a row. ... Becker’s used 2025 Census data to calculate how many nurses are in each state per 100,000 population. Here are the five with the most and the five with the fewest nurses. ...Most [list starts with highest]: District of Columbia ... Alaska ... New York ... Minnesota ... Massachusetts ... Fewest [list starts with lowest]: Utah ... Washington ... Georgia ... Idaho ... Texas ...

 Wisconsin-made film "Winter Hymns" gets more showings on the silver screen WKWO-27 ABC, Madison, WI; by Lucas Kihmm; 5/17/26 A movie that's produced and filmed right here in Wisconsin, Winter Hymns tells the story of a palliative care doctor meeting with a series of dying patients over a one day span. Writer and Director of the film Nathan Deming sat down with 27 News anchor Lucas Kihmm to talk about the movie and says he was inspired by his father, who was a palliative care physician, to make the film. ... It's now getting more exposure to audiences across the state and country after Flix Brewhouse gave Deming the opportunity to show his film in theaters. 

Proposed Rulemaking - Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing: Licensed Practical Nurse Pronouncement of Death Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; 5/9/26 ... Background and Purpose: Prior to the recent amendment to the VSL, the authority to pronounce death in a home hospice setting was limited to registered nurses (RN), physicians, physician assistants and coroners. As a practical matter, that means that an LPN, who is often present and delivering end-of-life care to hospice patients, has to contact an RN and wait for the RN's arrival for the deceased to be pronounced dead, the family contacted, if they are not present, and the body released to a funeral director or county coroner. This approach is not practical or efficient. Moreover, it is not compassionate to grieving families to wait, sometimes for hours, for the RN to arrive to have their loved one removed.

Thank a nurse 2026: reader submitted letters Portland Press Herald, Portland, ME; by various readers of the Portland Press Herald; 5/8/26

Celebrating National Volunteer Month: ways hospice organizations showed appreciation (April 2026) Hospice & Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger; 5/1/26 

[Greece] Tele-palliative care in rural areas, implementation and patient experiences: A systematic reviewAmerican Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine; by Athanasios Pitis, Maria Nikoloudi, Kyriaki Mystakidou; 3/26Specialist palliative care remains highly uneven in rural and remote settings for patients with life-limiting illness and their families. This review aimed to examine the implementation characteristics, clinical and service-level outcomes, and patient experiences of tele-palliative care interventions for individuals living in rural or remote settings with limited access to specialist palliative care. Conclusions: Tele-palliative care can extend specialist palliative care to rural and remote communities by reducing travel burden and supporting continuity, particularly when delivered through hybrid models embedded in local care pathways. 

Nursing profession sees major boom NBC Nightly News; by Emilie Ikeda; 4/21/26 As AI threatens so many industries, nursing is in demand. The Labor Department last year reported health care as the largest source of job creation in the U.S. "So many industries, one is thriving and paying good salaries," Emilie Ikeda explains why so many Americans are giving up working in office buildings to become nurses. ... At a time when many industries are shrinking in part because of Artificial Intelligence, "Why do you say that nursing is A.I.-proof?" "I don't think that A.I. can pick up on the minute nuances that may happen in human emotion ..."

Physician pay gaps by gender, race Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 4/16/26 Gender pay gaps continue to widen between male and female physicians, and physicians by race, Medscape’s Physician Compensation report found. ... The survey found that the gender pay gap has widened since 2023, going from men making $91,000 more per year than women to $102,000 more per year in 2025. This means men make about 31% per year more than women physicians. ... There are also substantial pay gaps based on race. White physicians make about $8,000 more than Asian Americans, the next highest paid group and $49,000 more than Black physicians, the lowest paid group. 

Closing the palliative care workforce gap through state lawmaking: a survey of legislation 2010-2023 Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Eugene Rusyn, JD and Stacie Sinclair, MPP; 4/6/26Results: From 2010-2023, we identified 723 bills and laws pertaining to palliative care. Of those, fourteen related in whole or in part to workforce (representing 2% of the total) with five becoming law—representing a pass rate of 36%. Fifty-five legislative entries pertained to clinical skill-building (comprising 7.6% of bills or laws from 2010-2023), with seventeen becoming law—representing a pass rate of 31%. Taken together, these efforts represented a minority (9.5%) of state legislative action during the study period.

Google.org and Johnson & Johnson Foundation launch $10 million AI training program for rural U.S. healthcare workers Complete AI Training; Press Release; 4/14/26 Google.org and the Johnson & Johnson Foundation are launching a $10 million program to train rural U.S. healthcare workers to use AI tools for administrative tasks. The initiative targets operational efficiency in clinics facing chronic staffing shortages and administrative overload. ... According to the National Rural Health Association, over 130 rural hospitals have shut down since 2010, with administrative burden cited as a major factor. The new program addresses this directly by teaching healthcare workers to use AI for scheduling, patient documentation, and clinic operations. 

Expanded palliative care program in Dubuque addresses a 'significant need' Telegraph Herald; by Grace Burwell; 3/28/26 A “meant to be” collaboration between two Dubuque providers is offering the local aging population expanded palliative support. UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital and Hospice of Dubuque recently launched an expanded palliative care program, bringing three nurse practitioners to the Dubuque hospital. Lavonne Noel, executive director of Hospice of Dubuque, said the new resource sprung out of “more need than ever before. It’s more important than ever that we work together in the health care environment right now, so we’re excited to join forces and collaborate on this."